George crouch



(No Model.)

G.G ROUUH. HAT HOLDER FOR 'I RUNKS.

No. 538,067. Patented Apr. 28, 1895.

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GEORGE cRoUoH, orNEW YORK, N. Y.

HAT-HOLDER FOR TRUNKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 538,067, dated April 23, 1895.

Application filed December 3, 1394:. Serial No. 530.633. (N model.)

To 01% whom if may concern.- I

Be it known that I, GEORGE CROUCH, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Hat-Holders for Trunks, of which the following is a specification.

Traveling salesmen, especially those ongaged in selling derby and similar hats, have heretofore experienced considerable difficulty in holding the hats in such a manner during transportation that they do not become rubbed and injured in appearance, and in ad dition to this the trunks that have heretofore been made for the transportation of hats have not been well adapted to the display of the hats when the trays are removed from the trunk.

The present invention is made with special reference to trunks employed by traveling salesmen, but the same is also available in a trunk wherein one or more receptacles are provided for hats, especially mens hats.

I provide a movable tray having through it one or more openings of a size adapted to the reception of the crown of the hat, and within this opening is a vertical flange or holder made of a piece of card board or similar material, bent into a nearly circular shape and attached at its lower edgewithin the opening in the tray, and the upper edges of this supporting flange or holder are concaved and the entire surfaces of the holder are covered with a fabric such as canton flannel, and these extending above the concave upper edges of 'the holder at portions thereof, form a yielding bearing upon which the rim of the hat rests, and the covering fabric is passed through and caused to adhere to the under side of the tray or partition, by glue or other adhesive material, so that the parts are firmly connected in place, and where there are several trays for holding hats in one trunk these trays are supported at such distances apart and in such positions that but little space is lost because the crown of one hat sets partially within the next hat, and they are so securely supported that the hats are not liable to injury when the trunk receives the severe handling incident to transportation.

In the drawings,Figurel is a vertical section illustrating a number of trays and hats placed within a trunk. Fig. 2 is a vertical section in larger size at the line 00:10, Fig. 3 representing two holders; and Fig. 3 is an inverted plan of the same.

The trunk is to be of any desired character. I have represented the same at A and the hat holder as aforesaid is applied upon numerous trays or only upon a single tray. I have shown a tray B made of a thin piece of wood, preferably strengthened at the ends by cross pieces or battens. In this tray an opening is cut of theproper size and usually elliptical, and the holder for the hat is made of the vertical flange or strip D of thick card board, mill board, or similar material, of a proper width and bent up into shape and inserted at one edge into the opening in the tray B, and the covering fabric E of canton flannel or similar material is usually applied to both surfaces of this strip previous to its being bent up and inserted into the opening, the fabric upon the inner surface of the holder projecting below the lower edges of such holder so that it can be notched and glued upon the under side of the holder 'as shown at 3, and the upper edge of the holder D is hollowed or out down at the side portions so that the top edges are concave but the fabric that is applied upon the surfaces of the holder is not caused to conform to this concaved edge and hence stands above the same and forms a cushion for the hat to rest upon, and in some instances a strip of batting or similar soft material is applied between the top edge of the holder and the inner portion of the covering fabric at thefold thereof, but I prefer to roll over the top edge of the card board to make a broad bearing for the hat to res-t upon.

It is dificult to secure the holder D within the opening in the trayB because the tray is usually of thin light wood and not adapted to the reception of nails, and the trunk usually receives such rough handlingin transportation that if the covering fabric alone was depended upon for attaching the holderto the tray the parts would be liable to separate. To avoid this difficulty I puncture the card board, or similar material, with vertical slits or'incisions at suitable distances apart-say about one inch or an inch and a half--around the lower end of the card board of the holder and then press the card board to form a rib 4 which is concave on one side and convex on the other side. Hence as the card board forming the holder is rolled up into the nearly circular form to be inserted into the opening in the tray, the rib d-projects and comes above the top surface of the tray and prevents the holder dropping down through the opening in the same, and the incisions allow such rib to be in substantially straight sections, whereas if there were no incisions the rib would. be obliterated in the act of rolling up the fabric into the nearly circular form.

It is to be understood that the fabric which projects at 3 is secured to the under side of the tray after the holder with the incisions and rib, as aforesaid, has been put into the opening in such tray and the hator hats are supported within the holders by the surfaces of their brims resting upon the upper edges of the holders, and the loose muslin prevents the surface of the hat or hats being rubbed and injured in transportation.

The tray itself is advantageously made of thin boards the line of separation going through the center of the opening so that the wood can be sawed out with semi-elliptical openings and the two pieces placed together.

\Vhere there are several hat holders in one tray the crossing slats G are made use of above and below the thin boards of the tray and secured together by nails passing through and clinched and the ends of the pieces of board are fastened to the rim or skirt slats F that are connected together at the corners and to the posts or feet G so as to form a very light but strong tray and one that can be easily sup ported in a trunk, and several trays may be placed in the trunk, one above the other, the corner posts or feet sustaining the trays in their proper relative positions, and it is advantageous to cover the surfaces of the trays at the corners with leather caps H on which the feet of the trays above rest, thus avoiding wear or noise by the concussion of one part with the other. v

1 claim as my invention 1. The combination with a tray adapted to be received into a trunk and having thin boards with one or more openings therein, of a hat holder formed of a strip of card-board or similar material having an outwardly projecting circum ferential rib and set in the opening in the thin board with the rib in contact with one face of the board, and a surface covering oftlexible material to said hat holding strip extending down around the edge of said strip with its lower end notched and securely glued upon the under surface of the thin boards whereby the hat holder is fastened in place, substantially as specified.

2. The combination with a tray adapted to be received into a trunk and having an opening in the same, of a hat holder formed of a strip of card-board or similar material having incisions along near the lower edge, and a rib bent up in the card-board at the line of said incisions, and a covering for such card-board passing down and lapping upon and secured to the under surface of the tray, substantially as set forth.

The combination with a tray adapted to be received into a trunk and having thin boards with one or more openings therein, of a hatholder formed of a strip of card-board or similar material, means for securing the same in the opening in the thin boards, the upper edge of the holder being hollowed out or out down at the side portions so that the top edges are concave, a surfacing of fabric secured to the hat holder and extending over the upper edges and projecting above the concaved top edges to form a flexible support or cushion for the hat, substantially as specified.

4. The combination in a trunk tray with the thin boards set togetheredgewise and having numerous semi-elliptical openings and the de vices connected therewith at the openings for holding hats, of skirt slats to which the thin boards are secured at their ends, and central slats crossing both above and below the thin boards and at right angles to their lengths, and means for connecting and securely holding said slats together and clamping the thin boards between them, substantially as specilied.

Signed by me this 30th day of November, 189%.

GEO. CROUCH.

Witnesses:

GEO. T. PINOKNEY, S. T. IIAVILAND. 

